Turmoil prevailed at Thursday's meeting of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as shouting punctuated public comments about controversial subway advertising and the chairman and a board member sniped at each over a proposed change in the meeting schedule.
"Wait 'til the fare hearings come," exasperated chairman Joseph Lhota muttered after a meeting that was a far cry from the routine perfunctory finance-and-ridership drone finally ended.
MTA will add disclaimers to political, religious or moral ads that could be deemed offensive. The disclaimers would clarify who paid for the ads and that any messages do not imply MTA endorsement.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the MTA overstepped in rejecting anti-Muslim ads that depicted jihadists as "savages." The ruling led to placement of the ads, some of which were vandalized.
Lhota expects the
Hollering prevailed at the public-speaking session, many decrying the anti-Muslim ads as racist. Pamela Geller, the executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative that placed the ads, was shouted down and police removed several people.
The board met in executive session for one hour, 10 minutes before agreeing to its first advertising policy change in 15 years.
"It's a problem when government starts determining what's objectionable and what's not. People have a right to voice their displeasure, however repugnant a message may be," said board member Allen Cappelli of Staten Island.
In more serene moments, the full board gave routine approval to several items the finance committee had approved Monday, including authorization to purchase up to $25 million of MTA, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and dedicated tax fund bonds and 2 Broadway certificates of participation on the open market.
"Making selective purchases of such MTA bonds is an efficient strategy in managing MTA's debt portfolio that will enable MTA to retire bonds at less than their par amount and eliminate remaining interest payments on the purchased bonds," finance director Patrick McCoy said in a memo to the board.
Other moves including increasing the fuel-hedging capacity by an additional $100 million, to $200 million, and adding PNC Capital Markets LLC to its approved pool of variable rate remarketing agents and dealers.
The MTA plans $3.1 billion in additional borrowing by year's end. Moody's Investors Service rates its transportation revenue bonds A2, while Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings both assign A ratings.
The board also approved Lhota's recommendation for fewer board meetings, but not before he and board member Charles Moerdler exchanged vitriol.
Moerdler objected to having only eight regular board meetings - plus two public forums -- instead of 11, a change to take effect next year. "Most disturbing is the effort to reduce the timely distribution of data, the unmassaged data," said Moerdler, a Bronx resident appointed in 2010 by then-governor and current MTA board member David Paterson.
An angry Lhota called Moerdler's comments "scurrilous" and even invoked a dispute where Moerdler allegedly used his police-issued MTA parking placard to park in front of the Cornell Club for four hours. "Enough of lying to this board. Be a man. Let's go," said Lhota.
"I will bring it on," said Moerdler, who added, "With respect, I find your comments disturbing."
Lhota replied: "Respect is not mutual."
At the press conference following the meeting, Lhota apologized. "My Bronx upbringing came out," he said.
